Back to Blogging!

I just want to start off by saying how amazing it feels to again be sitting at my desk, homemade iced coffee within easy reach and Old Crow Medicine Show playing through my speakers about to start writing for fun again. I’ve missed this part of my life and I didn’t even know it until I sat myself down in a computer chair a few moments ago. The coffee tastes better when it isn’t excel or ArcMap on my screen, that much is for sure.

It’s been close to two years since I’ve written about anything regarding video games. Until last week I hadn’t beaten a video game in over a year (thank you Batman: Arkham City for breaking that dry spell). It all started with a move to the Adirondacks and living out of a tent for an entire summer. Not having access to electricity really put a damper on my ability to play anything other than handheld systems and after beating the PSP versions of God of War I lost interest.

The Flowed Lands

This isn’t for lack of seriously trying either, you see I lived on the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Heart Lake property in the high peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains. If you look to the left, you can see what virtual reality had to compete with. Almost no contest. Almost. It’s hard to sit down and play anything when you’ve got some of the most beautiful wilderness in America just outside your tent flap. I wont lie when I say at first it was hard to accept that the technology in my life simply ceased to exist. I made several embarrassing attempts to run an extension cable into my tent and play Xbox with a good friend of mine. As some of you may know, tents aren’t known for their spacious interiors and there is something eerily unnatural about a tent illuminated by a flickering television screen projecting Call of Duty. The complexity behind setting up an Xbox and the desire to spend time with friends in the backcountry were two major components in the downfall of video games in my life.

All things considered, I am happy my hobby died completely for a period of time. In that summer I truly connected with the wilderness around my makeshift home and found a true passion for conservation. I knew a long time ago that I loved the outdoors but that love had been muddied by the many technological distractions in our society. After that summer I returned to Albany and it was business as usual, school and work. I didn’t get a lot of free time and it was rare I chose to spend that time on games. Slowly like molasses in January video games crept into my life again. I think I was resistant to the draw of playing again because at some point I had started to view video games as a waste of valuable free time. Which probably is still true but I would argue we all need to “waste” time now and again. It’s an excellent way to get your mind off things happening in real life, which for people who care about the environment can sometimes seem like a perpetual losing battle.

That being said, I don’t foresee myself playing video games to the extent that I used to. Especially in summer when the outdoors are practically begging to be explored and there’s no graduate school assignments denying me my ability to live free. I seriously look forward to writing here again and hopefully providing readers with some good gaming news and opinions. I now only play on PS3 and PC but feel free to get in touch with me at Godxofxwar555 on the PSN or the same tag on Steam. You could also come out and walk around some of the trails at the Albany Pinebush and most likely find me working out there!

By now you’re probably hoping I’ll stop talking about my life and get on to saying something useful about video games. What I can say is that Arkham City was an amazing game, I’ve never held more than passing interest in the DC universe but after this game I’m pretty obsessed with learning more. I feel that by now if you’re of the mind to read this sort of blog you’ve played, beaten and probably traded in Batman Arkham City so this bit of advice is just me wasting your time again. Sorry.

On the heels of Batman I’ve started playing Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. The game plays more like a blockbuster survival/horror movie than any previous video game I’ve ever laid hands on. It put’s a lot of recent attempts at zombie movies and games to shame with a twisting and turning narrative that keeps you on your toes. The story is gripping and about as realistic as it can be for having fungus based zombies in it. It will most certainly draw out a range of emotions in you as and make you think about humanity. Previously only movies and books could really evoke an emotion in me and the last of us will stick in my mind as the first game to do so. I’ll write an actual review once I’ve beaten the game but for now I suggest you find a way to give it a try.

What games or pass times are you enjoying this summer? Let me know in the comments!